


Be Not Afraid

by lil_1337



Series: Rose Garden [26]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, Mild Angst, WAFF, sap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 14:15:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2550545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lil_1337/pseuds/lil_1337
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set within the Rose Garden universe.  Sometimes storms are scary.  The title and inspiration are from Lullaby for a Stormy Night by Vienna Teng. You can listen to it here: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCktyjCosHE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCktyjCosHE</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Be Not Afraid

Quatre sipped slowly, the scents of citrus and white tea mingling in the air and accenting the unusually light taste of his beverage of choice. Wufei had recommended this particular blend when Quatre had mentioned he didn't like drinking his usual mix before bed. The heavier flavors of Earl Grey, milk and sugar tended to wake him up instead of putting him to sleep. This combination however, sat gently on his tongue bringing calm and peace with them; two things he was sorely lacking at the moment.

On any other night he would have welcomed the storm raging outside, using it as an unneeded excuse to snuggle with Trowa. Tonight, however, it had pulled him from an uneasy slumber and left him feeling restless and on edge. The normally comforting sound of rain pounding on the roof was pummeling the sense of distance Quatre used to buffer himself from his memories of the war. It was disconcerting how a single dream, one he couldn't even remember no less, could do so much damage to the sense of balance he'd worked so hard to create.

He'd briefly considered waking up Trowa, but the animal shelter where he volunteered was in the middle of a major renovation project. Trowa had been putting in twelve hour days doing hard, physical labor and was exhausted when he finally made his way home. The fact that he hadn't even stirred when Quatre had slipped out of bed spoke to just how tired Trowa was. Quatre didn't have the heart to interrupt the few hours of sleep Trowa was going to get before he headed back to the work site at dawn.

Sighing, Quatre brushed his bangs back out of his eyes, then stood, cup and saucer in hand. The tea had helped, but not nearly enough. As he turned to set them in the sink he caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Shaking it off as his imagination he set down his dishes and flicked off the light. This time the movement was more obvious despite the dimness of the room. Quatre 's vision, aided by a flash of lightning, was clear enough that he was able to make out the figure of Triton disappearing through the open door.

“Triton? Love?” Quatre squatted down where he was so he was more on Triton's level and waited for a moment before softly adding. “What's the matter?”

Lightning lit the room again, followed almost immediately by the sharp crack of thunder. Quatre blinked his eyes trying to clear the after images that seemed to be burned into them. The doppler wail of a frightened child was the only warning that he had before a small body slammed into him knocking them both off balance. Quatre landed on his ass with an expulsion of breath and the sensation that he was being attacked by a large, fuzzy, octopus.

Another flash of light revealing a small, tow headed boy in teddy bear brown footed pajamas clinging to him using both his arms and legs. “Triton” Quatre repeated, his voice soft and low. “What's wrong, love?”

Thunder cracked again and Triton pushed his face harder into Quatre's neck. “It's too loud.” He whimpered, tightening his hold with a strength that Quatre hadn't known his son possessed.

Quatre frowned, confused by this sudden change in behavior. Triton had never shown any sign of being frightened by loud noises before. He'd been exposed to a lot of them in his short life, it was one of the side effects of having a doting Uncle Duo.

“It's just thunder, Triton. It can't hurt you.” Shifting so his legs were under him and using one hand Quatre levered himself up off the floor. With his other he cradled Triton maintaining contact to ground and comfort the scared child.

“It's LOUD!” Triton's voice rose in timber and volume as the sound of the rain picked up..

“I know. I'm sorry.” Quatre kissed the top of his son's head as he maneuvered them through the dark kitchen and out into the hallway. He paused for a second then turned right instead of left in the direction of Triton's bedroom. If the noise was bothering Triton than the sound dampened music room was a much better place to go, at least until he calmed down. Once inside Quatre turned on the light, but kept it on a dim setting, then shut the door firmly. Immediately the sounds of the storm quieted as if they were now far away.

“Better?” Quatre asked as he made his way to the piano that sat off to one side.

Triton nodded and loosened his grip on Quatre's neck slightly. He sniffled then lifted his head to look around. The music room was still enough of a novelty to draw Triton's attention away from the storm still raging outside.

“Good.” Using one hand Quatre pulled the bench back and seated himself. When he was settled Triton let go, crawling across Quatre's arm so that he could sit beside Quatre, leaning in for support and comfort that comes from being close.

Resting his hands on the wooden cover Quatre took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before he slid it back to reveal the beautifully aged keys. He started with a children's song, one of Triton's favorites, that had a slow gentle melody then segued into Brahms lullaby. From there he moved into several modern pieces that he and Trowa were learning together. As he played he could feel Triton relaxing against him until he was lying curled up with his head on Quatre's leg.

Once more Quatre returned to Brahms's lullaby, playing it slowly and softly; each note a musical caress designed to soothe and reassure. When the song was finished he sat with his fingers resting lightly on the now still keys. Gone was the distant crash of thunder, replaced by the low sound of Triton's regular in and out of breath as he slept. Moving carefully to avoid startling Triton and waking him up Quatre rested a hand on Triton's head marveling that despite how broken he was at times this small person looked to him for safety and comfort.

Feeling emotionally overwhelmed and yet more settled than he had since the storm had pulled him awake, Quatre gently picked up Triton, arranging him so that his head was resting on Quatre's shoulder. Triton frowned, muttering in his sleep, but did not awaken though his arm came up to wrap around Quatre's neck. For another moment Quatre stood, enjoying both the quiet and the solid feel of the child sleeping in his arms. The knowledge that a single dream might have the power to push him off balance was disconcerting, but it was more than balanced out by the fact that Triton's trust was and always would be more powerful.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Grandpoppa. Grandpoppa!” The hissed yell yanked Trowa out of a deep sleep, startling him. Instinctively he reached under his pillow for the pistol that had not been there since the day that Triton came home from the hospital. “Grandpoppa!” This time his head was clear enough for Trowa to recognize the sound of his granddaughter's voice.

“Rose? Are you okay?” He turned over and came face to face with an anxious looking Rose. She stood next to the bed her arms crossed over her chest as she hunched in on herself.

“There's a monster in my room.” She stuck her chin out trying to look brave and unconcerned, but the slight tremble in her lips gave her away.

Trowa sat up, pulling her into his lap in one easy motion. “Are you sure? I think Granddad gave all the monsters the weekend off .”

“Yes!” The look she gave him had more exasperation than fear and Trowa smiled, pleased at having refocused her attention. “I heard it.”

“hmmmmm” He frowned then set her back down on the floor before slipping out of bed himself. “We'll have to go investigate then.” He offered her a hand and she took it, keeping close to his side as they made their way down the hall to what had once been Triton's room. It had been transformed into Rose's special guest room not long after her birth in anticipation of regular sleepovers. “Granddad frowns on monsters doing unauthorized overtime. It gets him in trouble with their union.”

“Grandpoppa.” Rose sighed heavily, but she hung back letting Trowa open the door and turn on the light before she followed him in. He made a big production of looking around even opening the closet and getting down on his hands and knees to search under the bed.

“I don't...” His words were cut off, by a low pitched sound of something rubbing across glass.

“Did you hear him?” Rose tugged excitedly on Trowa's sleep pants. “I told you it was a monster.”

Trowa nodded in agreement. “I did, but I think it might be something other than a monster. We'll have to check and see.” He crossed the room and made a prodcution of opening the curtains. On the other side of the window a large oak tree waved in the heavy pre-storm wind. A particularly strong gust pushed it towards the house and the tips of the longest branches brushed across the glass of the window. Gently he lifted her up and they watched and listened as the branch once again made it's eerie monster sound. “It's just the branch and the wind.”

Rose nodded, leaning heavily into Trowa as she yawned. “Granddad won't be in trouble.”

Trowa chuckled then kissed the top of Rose's head. “No he won't. I'm sure he'll be happy about that.”

Carefully he lowered her into the bed and covered her with a sheet and a comforter that he'd once described as looking like someone had thrown up pink and sunshine all over it. He perched on the edge of the bed rubbing her back as she relaxed back into sleep. When he was sure she was settled he stood slowly, feeling the years even if he refused to let them slow him down. He crossed to the rocking chair in the corner and lowered himself into it. From the sound of the wind the storm picking up and he wanted to be sure to be close by if Rose woke again and was frightened. His last thought as he drifted into a light doze was first thing in the morning, while Rose was watching cartoons with Rashid, he needed to trim the branches on the oak.


End file.
